Adi Barel Interviewed by Tali Lipkin-Shahak for Galat
Bialk’s Associate Director of Jewish Studies, Adi Barel, was interviewed on the Israeli radio station, Galei Tzahal (known as Galatz), by renowned broadcaster, Tali Lipkin-Shahak. They discussed the way Bialik teaches students about the Holocaust, antisemitism and rising above hate.
Below, we are pleased to share a recording of the interview, together with an English transcript.
Tali Lipkin-Shahak (TLS)
It [Yom HaShoah] is a meaningful day in the Diaspora. Is the whole world against us, or was the whole world against us, or maybe the world will become against us – it depends on the story that we choose to tell the next generations, within Israel and around the world. There [in the Diaspora], In light of the changing tendencies towards- and manifestations of antisemitism that we see today around the world, the question is asked of how best to instill the story of the Holocaust in the young generation, to [simultaneously] strengthen the narrative and also allow for a life free of suspicion and segragation everywhere.
In a conversation recorded earlier due to the time difference, I spoke with Adi Barel, Associate Director of Jewish Studies at Bialik Hebrew Day School in Toronto, where there is a Jewish community that is strong and established, while too, in Canada, the numbers this morning reflect a particularly large number of instances of antisemitism, perhaps the largest seen in the last 40 years. I asked her, how do you teach the Holocaust?
Adi Barel (AB)
We have quite the comprehensive curriculum, dedicated to preserving and strengthening the memory of the Holocaust. The exposure to the topic of the Holocaust occurs every year and starts at an early age, of course with sensitivity and nuances suitable to each group of learners. Starting with preschool, we educate about the basic right of every human being to live with dignity, pride and without fear. We then begin to introduce the second World War, the Holocaust and antisemitism through formal learning units starting in Grade 4, during Hebrew, Yiddish and Moreshet lessons.
In Israel, awareness of the Holocuast is unavoidable. However, just as our students are not as exposed to the Jewish religion and traditions as your students are outside of the home and school, meaning through the general public in the Diaspora, they, too, are not as exposed to detailed information about the Holocuast, not through the media nor through Canadian society.
And this is what makes our task of transmitting the memory of the Holocuast difficult and complex. And therefore our educational approach focuses, first of all, on a deep understanding of the history of the Jewish people and different Jewish cultures, and only then, beginning in Grade 4, on the struggle against antisemitism and hate in all of their forms.
TLS
What is the most challenging thing to reconcile for the young generation? You spoke about Grade 4 and your school goes up to Grade 8. These kids go on to other [non-Jewish] educational institutions, and they are continuously involved with the general public. What is the hardest thing to reconcile, that both tells this difficult story, but also educates for openness and against seclusion.
AB
[I would say] the fight against antisemitism. It is an ancient struggle that receives much attention in our curriculum. Particularly in the Senior Division, we delve deeply into antisemitism in all of its aspects, including classical antisemitism, modern [antisemitism] and that are in-between. As a school in the Diaspora, as you note, many would agree there is no topic more important than the fight against antisemitism, given expressions of antisemitism we hear from public figures and acts of antisemitism which are on the rise around the world and in the social media. There aren’t many different challenges in Canada; Canada today is a welcoming country, and multiculturalism and acceptance of the other are foundational principles here.
Having said that, engaging with the Holocaust can lead to a comparison between the History of the Jews in the land of Israel and that of the Indigenous Peoples in Canada. For those who don’t know, in 2015 the Canadian Truth and Reconcilliation Commission delared that, in its past, Canada had committed cultural genocide against its Indigenous Peoples population. This is a complicated fact and it is our responsibility to help students process it and to give it the importance that it deserves, without going into unnecessary comparisons. As a Jewish and Canadian school, we have the duty to be careful when such comparisons arise, and also to be sensitive to the issue and to be attentive to the students’ questions. At the same time, to discern between these two topics and to give to each the space that it deserves.
TLS
[You offer] a range of activities according to each age and level, and also in collaboration with the students’ family members. The range of activities and outline of your curriculum relating to the Holocaust includes more than just teaching about it on Holocaust Rememberance Day. It’s spread out over time, spread out over multiple dates and through a variety of events.
AB
Correct. We mark the Holocaust several times a year: on the international Holocaust Rememberance Day that takes place in January; on the Holocaust and Heroism Rememberance Day that is taking place today; and again in Holocaust Education Week in November. Holocaust Education Week is Canada-wide, and one of the most important educational events that takes place each year in Canada for the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust. It includes hundreds of meetings with survivors and ceremonies that take place throughout the greater Toronto area.
Beyond our educational program, there is involvement from the wider community, as you noted, through a number of school ceremonies, with guests from the community, UJA Federation and the Israeli Consulate. In addition, this year we launched a new program entitled “Rising Above Hate,” in partnership with Yad Vashem. This program includes a series of meetings that are led in collaboration with Yad Vashem’s researchers and experts, and deal with matters pertaining to the Holocaust and antisemitism, through art, music and film. It is aimed at parents and grandparents in the community.
Every year we also facilitate an event for students in Grade 7 and their parents, with involvement of volunteers and experts from the Toronto Holocaust Museum, where shared family learning takes place.
TLS
In the Toronto Jewish community there are quite a few families who have roots in Europe and in eastern Europe, families that have victims of the Holocaust and also survivors of the Holocaust. How is that expressed? How many students, when they get to you, already know something about it [the Holocaust]?
AB
Much of our community has roots in Europe. Our school was founded in 1961 by the Labour Zionist movement, such that the founders of the school were committed to the teaching of the Hebrew language, of Yiddish, and of the Holocaust. This is certainly still expressed today. At the same time, our population has expanded in the last few years and sees Jews from all the cultures of Am Israel.
TLS
But when they get to the school, do they already know something? Some of the students come at Kindergarten age, but in the older grades, do they bring [knowledge of the Holocaust] from home? Do they bring [that knowledge] from themselves or are they exposed for the first time through you [at school]?
AB
Yes, the students bring awareness and personal stories, and there are also grandfathers and grandmothers who are Holocaust survivors who come to present [their stories] at school, such that this is something that is very deeply rooted and important in the community.
TLS
In order to return, Adi Barel, to the beginning of our conversation, to the difficulty or to the attention that is needed to create the balance between the story of the Holocaust and the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust, and the importance of guarding and keeping of openness without arousing fear, without arousing heatred of others, or some basic level of suspicion. What are your keys?
AB
Well, our Holocaust educational program was developed by us [the school] in conjunction with experts in the field and both local and Israeli organizations. It begins by providing a thorough historical background of the lives of Jewish communities in the Diaspora before the Second World War, and further, of life in Europe, specifically, in the Shtetl and the cities. It also includes the Nazi’s rise to power and beyond, and the systematic genocide by the Nazis and their helpers. What is important here is that we also teach about the many acts of heroism, both of Jews and non-Jews, during the Second World War and the Holocaust, as well as the efforts that existed even earlier, towards the establishment of the State of Israel.
TLS
And the connection to current events, for instance today, when social media echoes threatening content and messages. Does this fit in [to your program]? Do you deal with this? Do you struggle with this?
AB
Yes, certainly. It is paramount to root in our students great respect and pride in their Jewish identities; that they should not be afraid to express who they are and to be who they are in the wider, public community. This [emphasis] is definitely something that enters the classrooms and the curriculum. It’s something that we talk about all the time.
TLS
Here [in Israel], we deal a lot with the worry that [the number of] survivors is dissipating over time. With you as well?
AB
Yes, it is the same with us. We work in conjunction, as I noted earlier, with the Holocaust museum in Toronto. One of the projects they have been involved in is the preservation of the memory of the Holocaust through holograms. So the school has taken part in conversations about the renovation and redesign of the museum, thinking about integrating [immersive experiences] for students such that even when the survivors are gone, we’ll be able to share with students their personal stories.
TLS
And today, on Holocaust Remembrance Day itself, what will students in school experience in class or with their grade?
AB
When they enter the school they will see a display designed by our middle school students that will help immerse them in the essence of the day. The morning will begin with a ceremony, one for the elementary grades and one for the middle-school grades. And, during the day they will meet Holocaust survivors, and [some] will visit a local synagogue and learn the story of Hannah’s suitcase.
TLS
How much do they know the story of Anne Frank? Is she a person through whom the story is told with you as well?
AB
Yes, certainly. Our students read Anne Frank’s diary, Hannah’s Suitcase, and other books as well during General Studies, enabling them to learning about it [the Holocaust] in their mother tongue as well.
TLS
Do they talk about it [the Holocaust] with their non-Jewish friends after school?
AB
That’s a great question. I imagine the answer is yes. You know, the culture here [in Canada] is very open and inclusive, and I assume this topic leaks out beyond the walls of the school. Especially in middle-school ages, you know, when students sometimes come [to school] with questions about something they saw on social media, as you noted. They process them [these questions] with our Jewish and Hebrew teaching faculty. So the dialogue between the school and the community is definitely open.
TLS
Adi Barel, Associate Director of the Hebrew program and the Jewish Studies program at Bialik Hebrew Day School in Toronto, thank you for speaking with us. Thank you for sharing. Shalom to you [singular]. Shalom to you [plural].
AB
Thank you to you as well. Shalom.
